Filipino Soldiers Injured in Clash

JIM GOMEZ

Published 6:00 pm, Wednesday, March 20, 2002

Associated Press Writer

TABIAWAN ARMY BASE, Philippines (AP) _ Seven Filipino soldiers were wounded and U.S. military medics treated and evacuated them Thursday during an ongoing clash with Muslim extremists on the southern island of Basilan, officials said.

Philippine military spokesman Maj. Noel Detoyato said the fight broke out Thursday morning near the coconut growing village of Bolansa. He said it spilled over to the nearby Upper Manggas area, close to where six U.S. Special Forces members bunk with 50 Filipinos and their battalion commander in a sandbagged, hilltop base.

Philippine army Col. Jessie Dellosa said the firefight started when 60 elite Philippine Scout Rangers patrolling coconut groves known to shelter guerrillas encountered 20 members of the Abu Sayyaf group which has been linked to the international al-Qaida network.

Dellosa said bloodstains on the ground indicated guerrillas were shot in the area, about 550 miles south of Manila.

Fighting there has injured at least 12 Filipino soldiers and killed one in the past week. Several rebels have been killed, wounded or captured.

Detoyato said two Filipino Huey helicopters were sent with two U.S. medics to treat the wounded and fly them to a hospital. He said U.S. helicopters, with night flight capability, will participate in any needed evacuations after night fall.

He said the helicopters land in "an area safe from gunfire."

On Tuesday, U.S. Green Berets entered a combat zone in the same area to render first aid after guerrillas firing rifle grenades and small arms wounded two members of a Philippine army patrol.

At least four rebels were killed in several hours of fighting and six more were later captured, officials said.

In the same area a week ago, two U.S. Pave Hawk helicopters evacuated three wounded soldiers and hauled out one dead after a clash with the Abu Sayyaf.

About 660 U.S. troops, including 160 Special Forces members, are in the southern Philippines to train Filipino soldiers battling the Abu Sayyaf rebels who hold Wichita, Kan., missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham hostage along with Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap.

The Abu Sayyaf, thought to number 1,000 before an army offensive started last June, now has only an estimated 60 fighters on Basilan.

The U.S. soldiers are armed but can only fire in self defense. The special forces members on Basilan are to stay at all times with local Filipino commanders and have reportedly acted in combat zones only to treat Filipino wounded.

Unmanned U.S. surveillance aircraft overfly the island regularly, increasing the number of sightings of the highly mobile guerrillas and enhancing the Philippine army's ability to shoot them.

Also crucial, say Philippine commanders, is the U.S. night flight capability, particularly in evacuating men injured in clashes in the inky jungle darkness.

Some wounded soldiers have bled to death before while being hauled out by land.